POLL - Screened or Solid Bottom Board

[pollenchucker]

Well I'm using the screened bb, rarely put the white board under it now I'm learning more.  Any mites that might fall through drop down to the brick bottom layer and aren't coming back up. I also have a ventilated upper super that goes with my overhead feeder.  So I know there is good ventilation throughout the hive.  And its going to get hot here soon and both those will be a plus IMO. And I continue to use them as is throughout next winter because like I already mentioned before I believe the ventilation will help eliminate any build up of condensation that will drip down on the bees.
But for the folks that simply say they like solid bb's, please say why and what difference you have noticed rather than just saying you prefer them.
-pc

[Robo]

One thing to keep in mind is different climates call for different management techniques, so what works best in on climate might not work at all in another.   Furthermore, bees can be pretty adaptive and survive despite our "help".

For our weather climate out here, the SBB works really great. It just feels right to me to keep things as open as possible.

Annette,

Just out of curiosity,  the cut-out you just did,  had the bees sealed up all the cracks and voids, or did they prefer open and airy?   I know we are at opposite ends of the country and are climates are different, but around here, ferals keep their nest sealed up pretty tight.  I'd be interested in understanding if the ferals manage their space differently in warmer climates.

Secondly,  how where their mite counts? 

I use screened here in FL.  The refrain from association meetings and just about everywhere I have read is SBB is one tool in the belt to help lower Varroa mite populations.  If one falls off a bee and lands on the ground it dessicates and dies.  Falls on a solid board and is more likely to crawl back up.

I know this sounds plausible and most folks can easily accept the logic, but it assumes natural mite fall off is significant,  which I'm not convinced of.  I realize your in Florida, so it is naturally warmer and more humid than here, so maybe this doesn't apply to you, but it may to others.  Could it be that the added ventilation of SBB is reducing the temperature and humidity in the brrod nest so that you are actually breeding more mites than are being eliminated by dropping thru the SBB?
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,16851.0.html

Personally,  I think bee genetics plays a bigger role than any IPM technique.   Since I have migrated to feral stock,  varroa is not any issue.  I still monitor by uncapping 10 or so drone cells during inspections, but that is about it.   I find much quicker and larger spring build up with SBB than I had with SBB even when closed off with a tray.

[annette]

They had the place sealed up pretty tight. We found these incredible pieces of propolis, about the size of golf balls in various places.  And they were examined pretty well by the beekeepers and no one found any mites on them. They kept saying how healthy they looked, no mites, really nice colony of bees. Of course don't forget there wasn't any brood either.

[indypartridge]

Really, it comes down to what works best for you. "Most popular" is not a good way to determine what is best (McDonalds may be the most popular restaurant, but is it the best restaurant?).

For the record, I use SBB. Leave them open all the time, except for when I'm doing a 24-hr mite count. Our winters usually have several weeks of sub-freezing temps, and usually a few weeks of sub-zero temps. My bees have overwintered well.

[Brian D. Bray]

Really, it comes down to what works best for you. "Most popular" is not a good way to determine what is best (McDonalds may be the most popular restaurant, but is it the best restaurant?).

For the record, I use SBB. Leave them open all the time, except for when I'm doing a 24-hr mite count. Our winters usually have several weeks of sub-freezing temps, and usually a few weeks of sub-zero temps. My bees have overwintered well.

That is my experience as well.  With SBB the hive can be left "open" into the single digits, which leads me to believe subzero temps as well.

[steveb]

I keep half on SBB and half on solid.  I don't know if one does better than another as it seems more dependant on the hive than the BB.  Now our temperatures get down to about -10 and the screens are left open and the bees survive fine.  I am still watching to see which I prefer but in the summer the SBB are much better as the hive keep cooler.

[gaucho10]

I like my SBB for all the same reasons that people mentioned pro-SBB.